His work is noted for its intensity and its raw sexuality, and for the many self-portraits the artist produced, including nude self-portraits. The twisted body shapes and the expressive line that characterize Schiele's paintings and drawings mark the artist as an early exponent of Expressionism. Gustav Klimt , a figurative painter of the early 20th century, was a mentor to Schiele.
Schiele was born in in Tulln , Lower Austria. According to family lore Adolf Schiele had contracted the disease during his honeymoon in Trieste , when he had visited a brothel [ 4 ] after his new wife scared of the consummation of the marriage fled their bedroom. When the couple slept together a few days later her husband then passed on the disease to his wife. As a child, Schiele was fascinated by trains, and would spend many hours drawing them.
Seeing Schiele's drawing as a detriment to his son schoolwork, father destroyed these sketchbooks. Schiele senior was known to have had an interest in collecting minerals and butterflies and also liked to draw.
When he was 11 years old, Schiele moved to the nearby city of Krems and later to Klosterneuburg to attend secondary school. To those around him, Schiele was regarded as a strange child.
Shy and reserved, he did poorly at school except in athletics and drawing, [ 6 ] and was usually in classes made up of younger pupils.
